Arab refugees who claim they abandoned “immovable property” in Israel, when they left Israel in 1948, may examine files listing such real estate assembled by the United Nations Palestine Conciliation Commission, the PCC announced here today. However, the Commission made it clear that it is not yet ready “to enter into any discussions on the actual value of the property.”
Today’s announcement reiterated one made last May, when the PCC reported it had completed a long-pending study for the identification of Arab property in Israel. The Commission added that the identification and listing of the property is only “a practical measure” and does not infer that the PCC “has reached any conclusion concerning the implementation” of a 1948 UN resolution which calls for “return” of the refugees to Israel or their compensation.
The Commission stated “it believes, however, that in any solution of the problem which may be forthcoming in the future, and which involves property, it will be essential to ensure that ownership is adequately verified in an orderly manner.”
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